


Underground

by RomaInvictus



Series: Young Justice Short Stories [1]
Category: DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst out the wazoo, Batdad, Crying, Dead Parents, Magic, Revealed secrets, being a bro, of course, the gang needs therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 07:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14889812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomaInvictus/pseuds/RomaInvictus
Summary: The Team gets more than they bargained for when they come face-to-face with a magical trap that is designed to weaken an enemy by using their past trauma against them.  The more trauma, the more pain felt.  Oh, and the kicker is that the rest of the team can see your memories.  What can go wrong?





	1. Snow

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I made this months ago, and it has been collecting digital dust ever since. So here ya go.
> 
> Hope you enjoy my children and their angst :D

The snow blew right into Dick’s eyes as he walked along the road.  Blinking, he sadly smiled.  _ Adding insult to injury _ , he thought.  He wore a black suit, although for once no matching black sunglasses.  It was a bright February day, and he was shivering a bit. At least the snowbirds seemed happy, but all the other birds had long ago flown to warmer areas.   _ I guess this robin can’t migrate. _

 

He gripped the flowers in his hands, the cold slipping further into his bones with each step.  Lowering his head, a cloud of air escaped his mouth. He trudged on, the snow on either side of the pathway was a few days old and quickly becoming soggy.  

 

Finally, he made it to the top of the hill.  The gravestones in front of him were all etched with the word “GRAYSON.”  This dark stonework was all that was left of his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin.  Putting the flowers in the center, he stood quietly, hands in his pockets. Meditative, he didn’t notice his radio beep the first time.  Once it beeped again, he groaned at the interruption and answered.

 

“Robin to cave.  What is it?” He realized too late the curt severity in his words.   _ Sounded like Batman for a hot sec  _ he chastized himself.  He needed to stop comparing himself to the detective.

 

After what he thought might have been a surprised pause, he heard the voice of Wally.  “Nice to hear from you too, Rob. Get over here, we are getting a briefing.” 

 

Looking down at the snow blanketing the graves, Dick answered, “Come on KF, I am busy right now.”

 

“What can be more important than the Team for the Boy Wonder?”  Wally’s voice cracked in indignation.

 

“With- uhh stuff”  Dick’s usual collected tone was rushed.  He couldn’t think of a good excuse.

 

“What stuff?”

 

“Batman stuff” he answered with a sigh.

 

“Can’t be.  Batman’s here.  He says to get your butt to the cave ASAP.”  Dick could picture Wally’s smug face at those words.  And then he heard a crunch.  _ Probably eating chips or something. _

 

Without any reason to say no, Dick turned for one last look at his family’s graves and turned away.  He blinked back a tear or two, even though it had been years ago, the pain still felt fresh at times.  Like they were torn away from his heart with a searing hot blade and yeah, he had a new family, but sometimes he was just so alone.

 

“I’ll be there soon.  Robin out.”


	2. Sewer

The sewers of Rome were not where the team had wanted to spend their Saturday night, but it was were they found themselves now.  After an embarrassing defeat at the hands of some strange new warlock, they were picking themselves up out of the mud, water, and… whatever else was in a sewer.  They were in a large cistern-like cave, with tunnels leading out in different directions on the side. The water flowed lazily through, no true direction winning out.  The trickle of the streams and the echo of their voices carried through the space, and the broken bricks here and there were the only trace of their latest battle.

 

“I have never seen magic like that before.  Not from Fate, not from Wotan. This is… scary powerful.” Zatanna was saying, panting after her duel.  Superboy was winded from beating up swamp minions and only lifted an eyebrow, while Aqualad was trying to maintain his composure at such a serious statement.

 

“We must tell the Justice League right away.”  Said the Atlantean, the strain in his voice showing the battle left him in the same boat as the others.

 

“Thanks Wally” said M’gann, who was pulled to her feet by the speedster.

 

“No problemo, beautiful.  Can’t have you wallowing in the er- what are we wallowing in?”

 

“Stay whelmed.  It’s just over two millennia of the city’s garbage.”  Robin chuckled while taking inventory of his utility belt. Compared to Gotham, this sewer was fresh as a spring breeze.  At least killer clowns and giant crocodiles didn’t run around in these tunnels.

 

“Ugh, great, I just did laundry.”  Artemis grumbled, wading through the mess to stand closer to the others.

 

Rocket floated down towards them, bubble surrounding herself.  She was the only one still clean. 

 

“Roquel, the threat has passed.  You do not require protection any longer,” Aqualad explained.

 

“Uh uh.  No way in  _ hell _ am I giving up this bubble.  I can smell y’all from in here.  You  _ stink _ .”

 

Robin snorted and said “Suit yourself” with a shrug.  He lifted his arm to activate his computer, and then realized with a whine of frustration that wasn’t working.  “Aww, come on. Must’ve fritzed out during the battle.”

 

Zatanna nodded.  “Residual magic can do that to electronics.”

 

Superboy finally broke his silence by grumbling and then saying, “Well, this place blows.  Let’s go topside and see if we can track that freak again.”

 

The Team nodded in agreement as they began to leave.  Robin was first to step into the tunnel, and then screamed as a sudden jolt of hot pain stabbed through him.  Stumbling back, he noticed that someone caught him before he fell into the delightful Roman Underground. 

 

“Dude!  Are you okay!”  KF shouts.

 

“Booby trapped…” Robin managed to mumble.

 

Zatanna quickly examines the tunnel, then the other ones around.  After about ten minutes she returned to the original one, a grim look on her face.  

 

“This is old magic.  Illegal now. It is supposed to weaken your enemy by taking advantage of their own memories.  Robin is lucky he walked through the right door. Every other one carries a death sentence. This one, only a little shock.”

 

“Umm, he looks more than a little shocked, Z,” Artemis piped up.  At this point, Robin shakily got to his feet. He vaguely noticed that it had been Aqualad supporting him.  

 

Weakly he said, “I’m fine, just caught off-guard is all.  What, do we have to walk through it?”

 

Superboy pointed out that he could dig their way up, but Aqualad shook his head.  “The structure we are in has already been through enough. Robin was right about it holding up for over two-thousand years.  We do not want a city block to collapse on our account. Our only way is through. Zatanna, are you certain this is the correct doorway?”

 

With a nod from the young magician, Aqualad took a deep breath.  “Do we know its intention? Just to weaken us? Steal memories you said?”

 

“Not stealing memories, using them  _ against _ you.  I think this one is crafted to focus on trauma, but all my knowledge in this field has been strictly theoretical.  We can only guess what it will do.”

 

“Or we can test it out,” Superboy added.

 

“Wait, Connor, you don’t have to-” Miss Martian began.

 

“Come on, we need to get out and tell the Justice League about this maniac!”  Superboy interrupted. Smiling he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” He held the Martian’s hand with a comforting squeeze.

 

Aqualad nodded.  “Do it. We will take our time and everyone will get out one at a time.”

 

Superboy looked at the empty tunnel, took a breath, and let go of Mag’ann.  Walking slowly forward, a sudden flash of red light shot forward into the gloom.  A new wall appeared right where Superboy was walking, and he flinched. Walking on, he stepped into the clearing.

 

That is when the memories hit.  He saw himself in a Cadmus tube, being forced to beat up Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Robin.  He saw the stress and pain that was associated with being a clone of the Man of Steel himself.  He saw himself being tortured in Bialya without his memories. He saw Artemis die in Martian Manhunter’s simulation gone wrong, and he felt the pang of sympathy he got whenever someone around him was in a terrible situation.

 

Groaning, he gripped his head as his vision came back.  Blinking, he again saw the dingy walls of the tunnel, and his friends through the gap.  They all were grabbing their heads too, and looked at him. He gasped, knowing the truth.   _ They saw too. _

 

“Uhh, what just happened?”  Rocket asked. She was so distracted by the visions that she was now standing in a foot of Roman sewage and didn’t even seem to notice the smell.

 

“Sorry, everyone.  I guess our psychic pathways are so used to linking up that they… are connecting through the magic somehow?”  M’gann softly explained.

 

Zatanna added, “Yeah, sounds like the arcane arts I know.  They seem to make up their own rules as they go. Sorry, guys I didn’t think of it to warn you.  Seems that the level of trauma is also linked to the amount of pain you feel walking through the doorway.”

 

“Sharing isn’t really what I had in mind.  I’ll just find a way on my own, thanks.” Robin nervously stuttered while heading for the back of the line.  Kid Flash looked at him with sympathy while the rest seemed confused.

 

“Don’t be whiny, Robin.  We all have to do it. Afraid we will see you break your favorite toy or something?” Artemis said with a flip of her hair and a roll of her eyes.  Robin opened his mouth to respond, then quickly shut it again. “Guess I can be next,” she said with a smile.

 

She walked through, a flash of red and a groan as the rest began to see what she did.  Almost stumbling from the pain, she walked on nonetheless. She saw herself as a little girl, watching her mommy and daddy yell at each other.  She saw when mommy got hospitalized, then arrested. She saw the terrible training matches she had to endure fighting her sister, Jade. She saw when Jade left home without her.  She saw her mother, now in a wheelchair roll back across the threshold, and she saw her father leave for good. She saw the crappy streets of Gotham where she grew up. She saw when Robin was drowned by the Reds, and she was the only one of the Team left uncaptured in the cave.  She saw herself fighting Cheshire and Sportsmaster. She saw the countless situations the group had to face together, all of them stressful. Blinking again, she opened her eyes.

 

“See?  Not so bad.”  She smirked, feeling more naked than ever before.  This would have bothered her a few months ago, but this team was her family now, and she could trust them in a way she was never taught to trust at home.  Despite their line of work, she felt safe among these young heroes.

 

“Artemis, I am sorry you had to go through all of that…” Wally said sadly.  She studied the pain in his eyes as she shrugged. “Whatever, I got here because of my past, so I am over it.”  He stayed uncharacteristically quiet, and she wondered if he bought it or not. 

 

Kid Flash decided to go next, and as he walked through, he seemed mostly unaffected.  The dim memories flew to the surface.  An elderly loved one passing, a broken limb, and a middle-school bully flashed in front of their gaze.  The death of Artemis in the simulation took its toll, and so did other crime-fighter related challenges along the way. But they were mostly removed from the teen himself. At the end, he brushed off the shocks of red with a shrug and a goofy smile.

 

“You guys are such drama queens, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be!”

 

The annoyed stares of his teammates were his only answer.  Zatanna was next, being of little use inside, as she pointed out. 

 

“Be careful, it packs a punch.” Robin warned her with a smile.  She just smirked back and stepped inside.

 

It did sting, and she cursed up a storm.  (Backwards, of course. Can’t have Aqualad blushing.)  She saw the car accident that claimed her mother, she saw the loneliness of being an only child of a man now held hostage by Fate, and she saw the tragedies that happened around her that the Team averted at every possible moment.  

 

As she blinked, the team all looked at her softly.  Artemis held her shoulder. Zatanna blinked away her tears, and nodded.

 

Miss Martian decided to go next, and she was similarly pained by the experience, accidentally screaming physically and telepathically in her friends’ heads.  She saw her childhood on Mars, the discrimination, the hatred others felt for her as a white martian. She saw Garth bleeding out in her arms, and her own choice to donate blood to him.  She saw psychic matches with different enemies, and her own fear of being revealed in her true form. Then, she came to.

 

Stepping out, she joined the friends assembled.  Superboy gave her a hug, as she stifled a sob into his shoulder.  

 

Aqualad was next, and even with his preparation in electric magic, he still gave a loud yell.  Panting, he slowly limped across the limit of the magical barrier. He saw the attack on Atlantis.  He saw his mother die, and his own desperate attempt to save her. He saw the funeral and some of the tragedies that occurred while he was at the side of his king.  

Then, he stood up.  He met the surprised eyes of his teammates, some showing sadness, others concern.   _ I do not have time for this,  _ he thought.  Sighing, he turned to the remaining two.  

 

“We must be over with this soon,” Aqualad said in a commanding voice of someone used to forfeiting his own feelings for what is necessary at the time.  He would mourn later. Now, he needed his team.

 

“Yeah, uh, can I try something?”  Rocket said, voice breaking from the visions she had seen already.  Without waiting for an answer, she generated a shield around herself and flew through effortlessly.  The red sparks made contact, and she winced, but no memories appeared in the minds of her friends, and she was in the clear with minimal pain.

 

“Aw yeah, baby.  Science wins again!”  She floated triumphantly.  Kid Flash joined her cheer with an “Eat it, magic!” of his own.

 

Now the entire Team looked to the small preteen standing before them.  Usually such a cheerful guy, now he was shrunk into himself, grabbing his left arm shyly.  

 

“If it all the same with you, I’d rather just wait for Batman or something, like I said.”  Robin mumbled, a small apologetic smile haunting his lips. 

 

“No, you have to come out now.  This magic will take weeks to diffuse, and you don’t have that kind of time.”  Zatanna explained tiredly. 

 

“Yeah, what is the hold up?  We  _ all _ went through.  Just because we aren’t as secretive as Batman doesn’t mean we aren’t trustworthy, ya brat.”  Artemis said, a bit sharply. Robin studied the muck under his boots as he stood still.

 

“I trust you guys, that isn’t the problem.”  Robin said in a voice barely above a whisper.  “Rocket… can’t you use that bubble thing on me?”

 

“Sorry, Boy Wonder, it can’t seem to generate one further than the field.”

 

“Dude… You will be okay.  I promise.” Kid Flash’s voice was serious and heavy with sympathy for a change.  “I know… you had a tough life, but us knowing won’t change how we treat you or anything.”

 

“Our target is getting away, and you are standing here wasting time!  Come on, Robin, we need to go.” Superboy said, not exactly harshly, more in a tough-love sort of way.

 

“Agreed.  Robin, it is time to come to terms with whatever it is.”  Aqualad said, fondly but still in the voice of the leader.

 

Closing his eyes, Robin exhaled slowly.  Inching closer, he said, “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

 

Suddenly pain coursed through every fiber of his being.  He fell to the ground immediately, screaming. Crawling on hands and knees, he was twitching, unable to breathe, unable to see anything but red.  He tasted blood in his mouth. Only his training kept him from passing out. As he reached the edge, the memories came flooding back just like they did during nightmares or at school or when he was least expecting it.

 

He saw his family being threatened by the mobsters.  He saw Zucco point a gun at his head, and felt the pain in his arm where the mafia boss kept an iron grip as he looked to the scared faces of his extended family, willing to give more money to the creeps.  He saw his mother crying- begging them to let go of her son.  He saw the circus, and his entire family falling to their deaths, heard the sound of their bodies and the screams of the crowd. He saw the flash of police lights as someone put a blanket around his shoulders he didn’t feel, because he was entranced by the red pools of blood soaking onto the circus floor.  He saw the funerals, and how the other mourners looked at him with a mix between sympathy and curiosity. He was a freakshow to them. He felt his chest grow sore from the constant sobs, and felt the loneliness of an orphanage. He saw the early days of working with Batman, the first body at a crime scene.  He saw the Joker coming at him with knives and a deranged smile, and he saw himself protecting innocents that were being attacked by every type of sick criminal Gotham possessed. He saw the trial of Tony Zucco, and he saw the nightmares he woke up to. He saw the carnage left over from Talia Al Ghul and countless horrendous events both with Batman and as a part of the Team.  

 

Robin twitched, in too much pain to do more than whimper.  Dick dimly realized he was being carried. Maybe levitated or something.  He heard a conversation happening, but he could barely register what was being said.

 

“He is only  _ fourteen _ .  He is so young” 

“Did you know about all of this?!” 

“No, only the parents part.  I didn’t think- He seemed so chill that-” 

“So the circus we were helping was his old home then?” 

“Why would Batman let someone that young around a body?!” 

“I guess he had his reasons for avoiding a  _ trauma amplifier _ -” 

“I… I called him a brat… Do you think I hurt his feelings?  Oh, gosh.” 

 

Breathing weakly, he tried moving his head.  A flood of pain shot through him, and he yelped.  The conversations around him stopped and although he couldn't get his eyes open yet, he could feel all of his friends studying him.  Truthfully, he didn’t want to meet their gaze. Dick Grayson, circus freak turned orphan, had enough pity from those who knew him. Robin the Boy Wonder didn’t need it too.

 

He must have drifted off, because the next time he shifted, it didn’t hurt as much.  It felt like his entire body was bruised. Groaning, he blinked slowly and lifted his neck.  He was back on the bioship, and his friends were studying him closely.

 

“Hey bud.  Took quite a nap there.”  Wally said, a grin on his face.  His green eyes weren’t smiling though.  It seemed forced. Dick always hated when he saw people do that.

 

Sitting up, Dick felt like he had cotton in his brain.  Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let the wave of dizziness pass.  The others, he realized, were either unwilling or unable to speak to him.  Whatever. He was used to the awkwardness at this point. Once you tell people you are an orphan, they don’t know how to act.

 

Weakly, he opened his dry mouth.  “How… How long was I out for?” Dick asked his friends.

 

“About an hour, Rob.  You scared us.” He looked up to see the concerned face of Zatanna and felt guilty.   _ Was she crying?   _ She must have beaten herself up about blowing off the danger so much.  Dick gave a weak smile and nodded.

 

“Aw, come on Z.  You know I am too hard to kill.”  He laughed, and it seemed like that surprised his team.  

 

“You went into shock.  You flatlined three times,”  Superboy said in a ragged voice.

 

“Hmm.  That’s a new record.  Explains why everything hurts,”  Dick replied.

 

“Dude…”  Kid Flash said in his softest voice and head cocked to the side.  His eyes were narrowed, challenging the nonchalant tone of his best friend.

 

“What?  I’m fine.  Just sore… like everywhere… but fine.  You guys don’t have to be so chalant.” Robin attempted to stand up to prove his point, and immediately leaned against the medical table.

 

“You are  _ so  _ not fine!  None of us are, and we only  _ saw _ your memories, not lived them!”  Cut in Artemis, arms crossed. She too looked like she had been crying.

 

Robin answered her with a shrug and a pout.  “Sorry, but I did say you could leave me there, didn’t I?”  She looked away with one last glare.

 

“Enough, Robin.  This is not the time to act childish.  We are concerned for you, not trying to interrogate you.”  Said Aqualad in a calming voice. He somehow managed to sneak up and place a reassuring hand on Robin’s shoulder.  But Robin wasn’t done. He shrugged off the hand and turned on his leader. The frustration he felt at losing not only the objective of the mission, but also his private memories, and respect of his teammates bubbled up until he snapped.  

 

“Childish?  I wasn’t given the chance to be a child.  All of you are heroes because you wanted to be.  I am one because I had the job thrust upon me. Even before the accident, I was either training with my family or being made fun of for being a circus freak.  So yeah, if I am acting childish it is because you people are treating me like the poor little broken orphan that people in my real life assume I am.”

 

The team did not meet his gaze.  The rest of the trip passed in silence, and Robin got off without a word except a curt “Thanks for restarting my heart a few times.”  Batman was waiting for them, but Robin didn’t look at him as he beelined for the zeta tube. He needed a hot shower, Alfred’s cookies, and a nap before the Calculus test tomorrow- er later today by this point.

 

The Team would tell Batman and he would check up on his ward.  That was fine. Whatever.

 

As Robin left the ship, the rest of the team sat in silent contemplation.

 

“Well now what?”  Rocket asked the group.

 

“We could… Apologize?”  Offered Miss Martian.

 

“Giving him space now is important.  He will come back around sooner than you think.  He was just sort of… raw… tonight. He can brood as well as Batman sometimes”  Kid Flash said slowly, studying how Robin walked right past his mentor without a hello.  

 

“And I thought I was the one with a reason to be angsty,” Superboy shook his head sadly.  

 

“Indeed.  It seems we barely knew our teammate.  We misjudged a situation, and he almost paid the price.  Whatever he is feeling now, we can apologize for our part upon his return.”  Aqualad added.

 

“Ugh, this all just sucks so much.” Zatanna said quietly, hugging herself tightly.

 

“What sucks?” said Batman, making the team of Young Justice almost heroically shit themselves.  “Robin is agitated, which is rare. And you are going to tell me exactly what happened,” the man said, using his interrogation voice.


	3. Sleep

Dick Grayson got out of the shower, and jumped onto his bed in cozy PJ’s.  In the back of his mind, he knew his friends were looking out for him, and so he felt a twinge of guilt at how he left them.  But, if he stayed any longer he would’ve ended up crying or something, and he didn't want them pitying him more.

 

Tomorrow he would face his calculus exam, and maybe the next day he would feel like talking to his team about it.  Pulling the covers up to his cheek, he just basked in the softness of the fabrics and the warmth of the bed. Nestled in the quiet safety of his _home_.  He heard a knock at the door, and he knew who it was.  It was the reason he left the lights on. Hearing the door open, he could make out Bruce Wayne walking towards him and sitting on the edge of his bed. 

 

“Dick…” began his mentor.  He put a hand on his arm paternally, making sure his next words were well heeded.  “I just heard what happened. If I was aware of the powers your opponent possessed, I would have never let you go.  Your team is concerned about you, and so am I. Are you okay?”

 

Weakly, through the covers, Dick answered, “Yes, I mean not really, but I can get through it.  It’s not like anything new happened. It was just memories of my life that everyone saw. They… They will look at me differently now.  I… I yelled at them a bit… I just sort of snapped… And…” Words were flowing out of him now just as tears flooded his face. He held it together until right then.  Under the protection of Batman, he felt safe enough to break down. “I feel guilty now. They were just concerned about me.”

 

“You can talk to them about it when you are ready.  They don't blame you.” His mentor said softly.

 

His voice faded as Bruce kept his arm on the young boy.  Dick was sobbing now and shaking a bit. All the while Batman was letting him cry.  He was safe and in a vulnerable place right now. Over-exhaustion and stress has done the rest.  After an hour his breathing evened out, and he was asleep minutes later. Bruce Wayne patted the boy on his arm and quietly stood up.  He knew what it was like to go through life like this.

 

He tried to make Dick’s life better however possible.  Conversation might not be his forte, he needed to be a fatherly presence sometimes.  Bruce could forget how young his ward was at times. But he was strong too. And capable.  The others had just been blinded by his brilliance and paid the price for their ignorance.  The winter wind blew outside the house, but Bruce knew the bird would return soon.


End file.
